KEY FIGURES OF 12 THE VIETNAM WAR The climate of Vietnam is largely tropical with warm to hot temperatures plenty of rainfall and high humidity Differences in humidity rainfall and temperature are caused largely by changes in elevation Vietnam's climate is dominated by monsoons wind systems that change direction and bring rainfall seasonally The north has a hot and humid wet season from about May through October The remainder of the year is relatively warm and humid with only light rains A prolonged period of fog cloudiness and drizzle occurs from December through April in the central zone and coastal lowlands The south is generally warmer than the north Its temperatures vary little over the course of the year but it has a distinct rainy season from about June through November PLAN T S AND ANIMAL S Forests of oak beech chestnut pine teak and ebony trees cover about a third of the land Bamboo plants grow in many places Mangrove trees grow along the coast Much of the central highlands is thickly for ested Huge areas of the country s forests have been cleared however by loggers and for agriculture and resettlement During the Vietnam War the U S Army destroyed vast tracts of forest in the south To combat deforestation the government of Vietnam has begun programs to replant trees The forests are home to animals such as deer elephants tigers leopards bears and
Douc langurs also known simply as doucs are strikingly colored monkeys native to Vietnam Laos and Cambodia They were pushed to the brink of extinction by years of war in the region as well as by intensive
KEY FIGURES OF 14 THE VIETNAM WAR Vietnam also has crocodiles boars jackals otters skunks pythons and flying squirrels PE OPLE AND CULTURE Traditional Vietnamese culture reflects the strong influence of Chinese civilization Nearly 100 years of French rule followed by American involvement instilled many Western cultural traits as well The Vietnamese however continue to maintain their own culture through such customs as attaching great importance to the family and observing rites honoring their ancestors The different cultures of Vietnam s numerous minority ethnic groups on the other hand generally show little Chinese influence and many groups have adopted some Western tradi tions Since the late 20th century the rise of tourism in Vietnam and the relaxing of economic and political controls have increasingly exposed the country s people to international cultural influences E THNICITY LANGUAGE AND RELIGION Ethnic Vietnamese make up about 85 percent of the country s population They live mainly in the low lands but 20th century relocation programs also brought large numbers of them to the highlands Vietnam s more than 50 different minority ethnic groups live primarily in the highlands Among them are the Tay Thai Nung Hmong Khmer and
VIETNAM THE COUNTRY ITS PEOPLE AND THE ROAD TO WAR 15 Ethnic Chinese are another significant minority Although large numbers of ethnic Chinese left Vietnam following reunification in the late 1970s they remain one of the country s most populous minority groups and play an important role in business and trade Vietnamese the language of the ethnic Viet namese is the country's official language Some people speak English or Chinese as a second lan guage French which was once widely spoken in Vietnam has declined in use About half of the country s people are Buddhists Most of them practice a distinctive form of Buddhism that developed in Vietnam over hundreds of years About a tenth of the population practices a new A young woman of the Cao Dai faith prays in a
